animus_network | ☿ // 006; [anonymous text]

[Reno didn't have to be told twice. He gets up from the library terminal and starts walking. It's about eight floors up, he should get there in plenty of time.

Still, it's long enough to think about one of the other anonymous threads.... one that had touched on Reno's thoughts sharply enough to have him disconcerted by the time he got to Floor 11.

He looks distracted, standing by the lake.]

Well, this is unexpected. I wasn't actually expecting to come into contact with someone that could tell me about that stuck up bastard.

[The lecturer approached with easy, relaxed steps, looking for all the world like they were discussing the weather.]

[Reno glances over, shrugging. It's that guy from the party; the one with the notes he offered to share his maps with.]

What d'ya want to know?

[An uneasy look settles on his face, shifting his weight from one foot to another.]

Put simply: anything you can tell me. If you're worried about whether or not I'm trustworthy...well, I might not blame you. But I'm certainly no less so than Diarmuid is.

Suppose it can't hurt. More people that know about that guy, the better.

[What he wouldn't give for one of Cid's smokes right about now. This is difficult. A lot more so than speaking with Diarmuid. This trust thing is wearing on him pretty badly.]

He was a genetic experiment that went wrong.

[His tone is flat, and his eyes shift to look out at the water, eyebrows raising in thought.]

Sephiroth was supposed to be the ultimate SOLDIER. The strongest warrior on the Planet. There were a couple others, but he was supposed to be everything in one, and he lasted the longest. Right up until he found out the truth, went crazy, and slaughtered and burned an entire village. I got to see the aftermath first hand.

Wanna hear more?

I've got all day.

[Waver folded his arms, frowning at the idea. So he was some kind of experiment that went off the deep end? Explained a bit, really.]

What's he capable of, physically speaking? Usually when people decide to consider themselves gods they've got one hell of an arsenal to convince themselves.

He's not. He wanted to become one, that's what the whole thing about blowing up the planet was supposed to be. He would absorb all the energy unleashed and become something else.

[Sighing, Reno shakes his head and scuffs at the ground, sliding hands into his pockets.]

Before he went crazy, he was able to take down dragons in a single hit of that sword of his. Uh, he was instrumental in the war with Wutai, sometimes turned the tide of battles single-handedly... and then there's that entire village killed and sacked. He did that without effort, from what I heard from the report.

Uh, physically speaking, after that, it took nine of the most powerful people on the Planet to take him down, but one important thing to know 'bout him is that he's not infallible. But if I were you, I wouldn't go in alone. He's bound to put up a fight, and people are gonna die.

So he's a genetically enhanced soldier and from the sound of it a walking fucking nightmare.

[Waver scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off the incoming tension headache.]

Fantastic.

[just casually ignoring the idea of fighting him, oops]

Edited 2013-11-14 21:49 (UTC)

Yeah, you got it. Without Jenova behind him, he's not as dangerous, but don't underestimate him. After what Diarmuid told me, seems like this version of him does.

[He's not stupid, after his discussions with Diarmuid and the network post, he can guess what's going to happen.]

If you're plannin' what I think, I only got to say you bunch are wingnuts takin' him on this early.

I'm aware it's essentially suicide. [Shrugging, Waver reached into his pocket. After a moment he took out a cigarette and a book of matches, lighting the former with a look of being on his last nerve.]

Unfortunately, I agree with Diarmuid--he has to stopped somehow. If we can kill him, we'll figure out where to go from there.

Sure, you can kill him, he's died before, twice according to some reports. There's people power enough to do it here. I'm not one of 'em, believe me, I tried back home.

[Reno's eyes focus right on that cigarette for a moment, but not daring to ask because what if that was Waver's last one? That'd just be rude to a bro.]

You're likely just to piss him off, then we're gonna have a real problem on our hands if we can't find the violet research. He unlocks that, you're gonna have more than just Sephiroth to worry about; you're gonna have Ganondorf and half the other assholes in this place, if they're still workin' together and not slittin' each others throats. I'd say wait until a better time, but Diarmuid seems like the kinda guy with a whole lot of passion behind him.

I'm afraid waiting isn't all that likely anymore.

[Noticing the stare he'd gotten, Waver withdrew a half-empty pack of cigarettes and held them out with the matches, choosing to continue his line of thought rather than remark on the action.]

To state it plainly, you're right. This is ill-conceived and a bad idea overall. Someone does need to put the brakes on this and get him in check, of course, but this seems the wrong way to go about it. If it were up to me there would at minimum be a lot more planning going into this half-baked mess.

As you say, Diarmuid's...'fixated', could be the word for it. From his perspective, Sephiroth made this personal by attacking someone important to him. At this point I'm not sure even I could talk him out of this, and that might be saying a lot.

Edited 2013-11-14 22:26 (UTC)

Thanks. [The offer's really appreciated, taking a cigarette and the matches, but hesitating before actually lighting up. It'd be the first one in... over a year? He's planning to enjoy it.]

...I actually understand why he's doin' it, I got a family myself, some of 'em he's already killed or messed with, but it still doesn't make it smart. 'S why I haven't hunted the bastard down yet...

[Breaking off that line of commentary, he finally strikes a match and held it to the cigarette, taking a puff before flicking the match out with a finger.]

Unfortunately, my help probably won't make it much easier. I can't tell ya much more than what I've already said. We didn't get as much experience with fighting him and Jenova as Cloud and his friends did. I can tell ya what would've been top secret back home, things even Sephiroth probably doesn't know.

I understand his reasoning, which makes it difficult for me to argue or criticize the specific method. Diarmuid may be the only family I have, but I know I'd be just as reckless if Sephiroth targeted him more than he already is. In fact, that's probably exactly what I'm doing now.

[Waver sighed a thin cloud of smoke, looking as though the whole matter was an annoyance.]

Some people fight with blades, but my preferred weapons are knowledge and strategy. If there's anything at all you can tell me that you think would help no matter how slight, I'd owe you a lot.

[Reno folded his arms and watches the smoke rise above their heads, eyes narrowed in concentration. What is Sephiroth's biggest weakest? Something that, no matter what, always seemed to define him? Memories were sketchy things in the Tower, and because of the differences in the universes, didn't always apply.]

...His arrogance. He thinks he's a god, right? He's got a shitton of arrogance. He'll think no matter what, he's going to win. He might get careless, or sloppy, thinkin' his abilities will always win out over other people's. That's how I understood it last time. Because Meteor was just a few hours away, he thought he had the world, but AVALANCHE was able to stop him though nobody was expecting it. Wonder how it felt then, when he knew he was gonna lose.

[He's rambling for the most part, speaking in a soft, contemplative tone, and trails for for a second before he realizes that probably isn't helping.]

Uh. Yeah, anyway. This's a long story, an' I don't have all the pieces, because I wasn't in charge back then. Cloud filled me in some of it, but I ain't gonna say how accurate it is given the alternate universe shit.

[Crouching down by the water of the lake, he reaches out to flick at the water, creating some ripples.]

What made Sephiroth dangerous after he went crazy was Jenova. Jenova's an alien being that crashed on our world a couple thousand years ago. When it was found, there was a whole flurry fuck in the science department claimin' they'd found an Ancient. The scientists used the DNA when they, uh, created Sephiroth... so he was supposed to have the power of the Ancients, only it was too late when they figured out Jenova wasn't an Ancient.

That thing was... y'know, I actually don't know what it was. I don't think anyone really did. The cells they took from it had some sort of will of it's own. You get infected with that, it could take over your mind if your will wasn't strong enough, but Sephiroth... he kinda started to dominate the thing. It was damned hard getting all the reports together to finally figure all this out... and like I said, Cloud told me some of it. Hojo was the entire mastermind behind the Jenova Project, and that bastard was slippery as a entire fucking barrel of fish.

[Glancing over at Waver, an ironic smile appears, and he stands up.]

Sephiroth seems different from how he was back home, but I'm thinking it's important to know in case he's still got the abilities. Sounds like he does.

...I see. So the bottom line of it is that he has the same major flaw as anyone else with power.

Well, that and freakish alien abilities. That's a new one.

[This was a lot of information to handle at once, and Waver processed it all carefully before he continued.]

This group you're talking about, the ones that defeated him. Are any of them here that you know of? While I'd like to ask them a few questions, I know my own luck well enough to assume I won't have the luxury.

[Reno takes a couple of quick puffs through the cigarette, letting out a long stream of smoke, before shifting back on his feet.]

Cloud disappeared some time earlier this year. If he was still here, you'd have no problems takin' Sephiroth down.

[Oh, wait wait, Cid was here... after all the drama, he had nearly forgotten the foul mouthed pilot.]

Cloud's colleague, Cid Highwind is here. We're on... sort of neutral terms right now, but I don't know if he'll help ya. He'd probably call you people numbskull idiots something something. I dunno, something with a lot of asterisks.

Edited 2013-11-15 05:50 (UTC)

[reno, you're talking to the most foulmouthed professor ever to exist.]

Sounds like just the sort of person I might be able to talk to in this damned place. Whether he'd help or not, it might be worth a try to contact him before this whole mess goes all pear-shaped if I can manage it.

Heh, if you can get him to co-operate, all the more power to ya. He's in 2-04 last I saw. You gonna go up now? He might not be there.

Hm...unfortunately I'm not sure I have the luxury of time enough to gamble on a possibility. I have a lot of preparations to make in the next day or so.

Ah, he's got a mailbox, I think. Y'should send him a note. You'll need all the help you can get if you're really gonna go through with it.

☿ // 006; [anonymous text]

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